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This Month in Mongolian Studies is a monthly listing of selected academic activities, resources and other material related to Mongolia. This list is based on information the ACMS has received and is presented as a service to its members. If you would like to submit information to be included in next month's issue please contact the ACMS at info@mongoliacenter.org This publication is supported in part by memberships. Please consider becoming a member of the ACMS, or renewing your membership by visiting our website at mongoliacenter.org/join.
Thank you!
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ACMS Announcements, News and Media References
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Mongolia Field School deadline drawing near!
After carefully monitoring the COVID situation in Mongolia and abroad, we are confirming that based on current information and projections for summer, we are planning to run the in country Mongolia Field School for summer 2022. With the priority deadline of March 31, 2022 having passed, we have the regular deadline of April 30, 2022 to receive more applications.
The Government of Mongolia downgraded its emergency level related to COVID-19 from orange to yellow, opening its border to foreign travelers. All applicants are required to be fully vaccinated and the ACMS will be complying with all safety requirements throughout the program in Mongolia.
The courses are open to a diverse range of participants, including undergraduate and graduate students, teachers and life-long learners, and offer an opportunity to experience learning and travel guided by academic experts in Ulaanbaatar and the beautiful Mongolian countryside.
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Mongolia Field School 2022 Info Session Webinar
now available on-demand
On March 8, the ACMS staff and Mongolia Field School course instructors organized a live info session to provide an overview of each of the five courses, offer more details about the Field School application process and funding opportunities, discuss travel and living arrangements, and answer any questions students may have. The upcoming Mongolia Field School program offers an educational travel experience open to all participants including students, teachers and lifelong learners and adventurers. Participants will have the opportunity to go deeper into key topics in contemporary Mongolia, gain field research experience and travel off the beaten path expertly guided by faculty mentors. The webinar is now available to watch on YouTube via the following link.
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Updates from Media Channel Intern
My name is Cora Smith and I am the current Media Channel Intern with ACMS. For my internship, I have been working on helping to organize the youtube channel and Facebook videos. I have edited the titles for VSS and VPS along with adding a description for better organization. Along with this, I have updated the ACMS media data collection for better video analytics and overall data-keeping of video information such as views.
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Language Learning Methodology Series
One of the core activities we planned for the year of 2022 has been on Mongolian language pedagogy. To this end, we started a quarterly seminar by and for Mongolian language teachers to exchange their pedagogic experiences, share their best practices and learn from one another.
We have successfully organized our first pedagogy seminar of 2022 on March 14. The online event was titled “Innovative methodologies of teaching foreign language” by Dr. Ganzorig G., the department dean at the Technology Institute of Mongolia. The seminar proved to be of a highly critical theme, drawing around 700 attendants who made the Q&A session in the latter part even more engaging.
One of the memorable comments Dr. Ganzorig made at the end of his presentation was that “the times require us to apply English, the dominant language, on a higher level to be part of the “Meta” world where Mongolians can do anything they want.”
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Reflections from Outgoing U.S. Director Natso Baatarkhuu
I share my news of resignation from ACMS with a heavy heart. It has been a thrilling four years, full of career growth (I first joined as an intern at the Philadelphia Office in April '18!) and memorable experiences, with not only my supportive colleagues but also our growing number of dedicated partners, members, fellows, and supporters.
I'm happy to say I will continue being an ardent proponent of ACMS and Mongolian Studies from the side of academia as I'm starting a PhD in Writing and Rhetoric at Michigan State University. The desire and aptitude to pursue this advanced level of study came from my time at ACMS and hands-on experience with digital humanities and e-learning.
I'm more than confident that our teammates in the U.S. and Mongolia offices will continue to bring ACMS to new heights. Despite the recent global calamities, we have persevered and thrived with online educational and outreach programs on an even broader scale.
ACMS continues to organize a gamut of exciting activities to further support the academic and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Mongolia. I wish all the best to my colleagues and look forward to supporting them more in the future. If you wish to keep in touch, feel free to reach out at natsobaatar@gmail.com.
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ACMS Sponsored Programs and Events
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Please note that our VSS programming is alternating monthly between Mongolian and English as part of our larger plan to create inclusive and accessible discourse. April events will be held in Mongolian. |
| The third "Соёлын өв цуврал семинар" (Cultural Heritage Colloquium) event of the year was an in-person workshop, titled “The process of creating e-content in the Museum Environment”, which was held on March 25th, 11 AM ULAT. The main language of the colloquium was Mongolian.
The workshop's livestream can be watched below.
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| | | Dr. Paul Shore, senior researcher at the University of Hradec Karlove, presented at our March Virtual Speaker Series about "The report of a Silesian Jesuit’s sojourn among the Kalmyks in 1700" on Mon, Mar 17, 9am EDT. The presentation was in English and will soon be uploaded to ACMS YouTube channel with Mongolian subtitles. However, the full livestream is also available on the ACMS Facebook page. |
| | ACMS started a new quarterly series titled "Language Teaching Methodology Seminar", and held on Wed, March 10, 8pm ULAT.
This quarter's speaker was Dr. Ganzorig Z, Mongolia representative of the TESOL Program at the Concordia University, Canada. The event was held in Mongolian. |
| With the loosening of pandemic restrictions, some of the ACMS Field Research Fellows have started to conduct their visits to Mongolia. We interviewed our ACMS 2020 Fellow Mr. Bryant Harden, who is a Political Science student at the University of Florida, at the tail end of his field research in Mongolia. He talked about his research "An Interpretative Analysis of the United States Peace Corps in Mongolia." |
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Vacancies, Scholarship, and Fellowships
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Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Competition now open
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards for U.S. citizens to teach, research, and conduct professional projects in more than 130 countries. In the current competition, there are 41 awards in East Asia and the Pacific. To see what's available in your field, explore our Catalog of Awards. You can join the more than 400,000 Fulbrighters who have come away with enhanced skills, new connections and greater mutual understanding.
Interested faculty and professionals are encouraged to visit our website where you will find program details, application guidance and other resources. We also invite you to view current opportunities in the Catalog of Awards, join a webinar or attend an office hour for live application assistance.
The application deadline is September 15, 2022. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.
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| The Tsahim-Urtuu Mongolian-American Community Scholarship
The Tsahim Urtuu - American Mongolian Community Scholarship Program recognizes academic excellence among Mongolian American high school students in North America planning to pursue a traditional baccalaureate degree at an accredited four-year college, university or military academy in the United States. TUNA selects well-rounded winners based on several factors, including SAT (and/or ACT) scores, demonstrated leadership, and junior year academic performance. Financial need is not a factor in determining winners. Awards for colleges or universities range from $1,000 to $2,000 per year. The amount for military academies is fixed as a one-time award of $1,000.
The TUNA Scholarship Program is open to all eligible Mongolian American children regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, birth place origin, citizenship status, or disability.
Scholarship awards may be granted in amounts from $1,000 to $2,000 per year for up to four years of full-time undergraduate study or completion of a bachelor’s degree. The amount of the award is not based on financial need. The scholarship amount is granted for each of four undergraduate years or until baccalaureate degree requirements are met, whichever occurs first. The amount is co-payable to the student and the institution.
Students log on to https://scholarship.tsahimurtuu.org, register/obtain a User ID, and complete the application.
The applications must be completed and submitted no later than 22 May 2022.
Take the ACT or SAT. Students may include scores from multiple ACT and/or SAT exams; however, the highest combined (verbal and math) SAT score from one test will be considered.
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| Oyu Tolgoi Mongolia Foreign Scholarship Program
Oyu Tolgoi announces two scholarship positions to financially assist selected applicants in obtaining a Master's degree at an international university. The scholarships are given to candidates applying for: Geotechnical Engineering and Mining Engineering.
Scholarship benefits include:
• University application fee
• Tuition fee
• Allowance for study materials
• Monthly living allowance
• International student health insurance
• Visa fee and travel expenses
The applicant: - must be a Mongolian citizen
- must have a Bachelor's degree in relevant discipline from an accredited university (with a GPA above 3.0)
- must be able to work at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology for at least 5 years and teach in the geotechnical discipline
The application deadline is April 26, 2022.
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| Two Positions at Australia Awards Mongolia
Join us! Australia Awards – Mongolia is currently taking applications for the following positions:
- Finance and Program Officer
- Program Officer
Visit https://scopeglobal.com/about/careers/ to learn more about the role and submit your online application. Please note that only applications submitted via our online application portal will be considered.
Applications will close 30 April 2022.
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| Seven positions at Friends of Mongolia
Friends of Mongolia has been a bridge to communities in the USA and Mongolia. We have been organizing numerous fundraising and networking events since establishment to help people who love Mongolia get connected and collaborate.
All the officers of our NGO work and assist on a voluntary basis whilst humbly contributing enormously to the community development and community building using their own capacity. We are now hiring and encouraging individuals from different backgrounds and skills to be part of our contribution to such works.
We've opened following 7 positions based in both the USA and Mongolia:
- Co-Director Mongolia (based in UB)
- Co-Director USA
- Membership Coordinator
- Event coordinator New*
- Treasure/Finance assistant (based in UB)
- Administrative Assistant
- IT/Digital communication officer
Applications will close 31 March 2022.
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| Acquisitions Editor Specializing in Buddhism at Shambala and Snow Lion Publications
This position is primarily responsible for acquiring 12-15 book projects on the area of Buddhism (with an emphasis on Tibetan Buddhism) and overseeing the developmental editing of a similar amount of projects per year. These books should align to the Company’s Mission and Vision.
Key Accountabilities:
- Responsible for commissioning new projects and evaluating submitted proposals.
- Stay current in subject areas and trends in the field to identify potential new authors. Reach out to possible new authors by phone and email.
- Assist authors in concepting and developing a proposal (and possibly sample material) that meet reader and market needs.
- Pitch new projects to the Publisher, Executive Team and Editorial Board.
- Prepare a P+L statement for each book.
- Make an offer to Author/agent. Negotiate advance, royalties, length, images/visuals, timing, etc.
- Work closely with authors to shape the content, style, and approach of each book.
- Developmentally edit or oversee the developmental edit of manuscripts, including big-picture content, organization, what is missing, what makes sense, etc.
- Prepare manuscript for the production process with Assistant/Associate editors. Guide the manuscript throughout the production process.
- Provide input on title, cover, and interior design. Create cover copy.
- Solicit endorsements for the book.
- Launch projects internally to Marketing, Publicity, Production, and Editorial Teams.
- When needed, seasonally present lead titles to Penguin Random House.
- Act as the liaison to the Author, supporting, educating, problem-solving, etc. Relay feedback and issues from other departments. Editor serves as the main point of communication with the Author.
- Attend meetings as needed, including Editorial meeting, Title meeting, Cover meeting, Launch meetings, Marketing and Publicity meetings, all-office meetings.
- Occasionally will attend conferences and off-site meetings.
Job Qualifications:
Knowledge:
- Understand market trends, conduct frequent market research
- Good knowledge of the industry
- Content expertise in the subject areas the Company publishes into, including Buddhism and other religious traditions.
- This position requires strong connections within Buddhist practice communities and teachers, as well as in the Buddhist Studies world. A basic knowledge of Tibetan language is a plus but not required.
Skills and Abilities:
- Excellent project management skills
- Some general presentation skills
- Excellent written and verbal skills
- Excellent communication and negotiation skills
- Skilled in developmental editing
- General problem-solving skills
- Ability to adhere and meet tight deadlines
- Handles unique and challenging problems on a regular basis
- Understands finances of book acquisition and factors that contribute to overall profitability
Education:
- BA degree in related area
- Master’s degree beneficial but not required
- Experience:
5+ years industry experience or equivalent (e.g., 5+ years of editorial work in academia or another related context)
Salary range: $41,596-$83,193
Deadline: May 5, 2022
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Grants and Calls for Paper
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Call for Papers: For the New Journal "Chinggis Khaan Heritage Studies"
We are pleased to announce the formation of "Chinggis Khaan Heritage Studies," a scientific journal dedicated to the 860th birth anniversary of Chinggis Khaan, which is going to be disseminated in Mongolian and English, and either in paper publication or electronic form.
We would accept scientific articles and critique on scientific works related to Chinggis Khaan and his successors, and Great Mongolian period in below mentioned study areas: - History and archeology;
- Ethnology, anthropology, textology;
- Literature, Linguistics;
- Culture and Art;
- Religious studies;
- Legal studies.
Requirements: - proposing new ideas and conclusions;
- not been published before in any form except as a preprint;
- written in English.
Submission guidelines:
- Article font: Times New Roman
- Font size: 12
- Line spacing: Single
- Paragraph indention: 1 cm
- Margin on all sides: 2 cm
- Article size: 5-15 pages
- Citation: APA format
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Call for Papers: "Asian Comparative Literature and Film Panels, RMMLA 2022 (Albuquerque)"
Abstracts are invited on any topic related to Asian comparative literature and film, including both intra-Asian comparison, and comparison between Asian and non-Asian traditions.
The Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association is a regional association of the Modern Language Association. For many years, it has had very strong turnout from scholars of Asian literatures. The 2022 meeting will return to an entirely in-person format, so that only those who are able to travel to Albuquerque should submit abstracts. RMMLA membership and conference registration are required for attendees, though rates are reasonable; see rmmla.org for details.
Please send abstracts of approximately 250 words to Daniel Fried (dfried@ualberta.ca) or Mei Mingxue Nan (mnan@g.harvard.edu). Our extended deadline for receipt of abstracts is May 15; notifications regarding the status of submissions will be sent by June 1.
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Call for Papers: "71st Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA)"
The University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies is pleased to host the 71st Annual Meeting of the MCAA, September 16 – 18, 2022. We would be delighted to see you in Lawrence and to invigorate the region’s Asian Studies network. We hope you'll consider submitting a paper or panel proposal.
We are now soliciting panels, roundtables, and individual papers from all disciplines with China and Inner Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, the Asian Diaspora, and topical and comparative panels. Faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students, as well as independent scholars, are encouraged to share their work and attend the conference.
Individual Papers: Proposals should include (1) Presenter's name, affiliation, position, and contact information, including email addresses, and (2) Paper title and summary (150 words maximum).
Panels and Roundtables: Proposals should include (1) A list of participants, their paper titles, their affiliations, their positions, and their contact information, including email addresses, and (2) A panel summary (250 words max.) that includes a brief description of each paper and makes clear the connection between the papers.
If you are interested, please submit a proposal using the 71st MCAA submission forms for paper proposals and panel/roundtable proposals by May 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. Additional information (e.g. transportation, accommodations, and area information) will be available on our forthcoming website.
For questions about the call for papers, please contact our Academic Program Coordinator Ayako Mizumura at mcaa2022@ku.edu.
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Call for Proposals: "Silk Road Youth Research Grant" by UNESCO
As part of the Silk Roads Programme’s ongoing work to better understand the rich history and shared legacy and spirit of the Silk Roads, UNESCO, with the support of the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO, launched the ‘Silk Roads Youth Research Grant’ in 2021 within the framework of the Social and Human Sciences Sector. The second edition has been launched on 1 March 2022.
This initiative, which aims to mobilize young researchers for further study of the Silk Roads shared heritage, will award 12 research grants to young women and men under 35 years of age.
Grant applicants are invited to address areas of academic study which relate to the shared heritage and plural identities of the Silk Roads, as well as its internal diversity, and potential in contemporary societies for creativity, intercultural dialogue, social cohesion, regional and international cooperation, and ultimately sustainable peace and development.
The call for proposals for the second edition of the Silk Roads Youth Research Grant is now open, we invite you to read the sections below for more information before submitting your application.
A broad array of research fields, including multidisciplinary and multidimensional proposals not limited to one specific region or chronology, are eligible. Proposed research may cover one or several themes associated with the Silk Roads shared heritage including, but not limited to: - Science and Technology and Traditional Knowhow
- Religion and Spirituality
- Language and Literature
- Arts and Music
- Traditional Sports and Games
- Economy and Trade
- The Legacy of the Silk Roads and Contemporary Issues
However, proposed research must focus on the results of cultural interactions and exchanges, and within a given field must showcase the concrete resulting elements, be they tangible or intangible, as identifiable in two or more cultures along the Silk Roads and beyond. Research may be interdisciplinary in approach, and where possible, provide dynamic and novel ideas on the processes of exchange and transformation along the Silk Roads and its meaning and value in contemporary societies.
Applicants are required to submit a proposal by using the standard template provided here detailing their research, its methods, expected outcomes and contribution to existing scholarship. Proposals should be submitted in English.
The call for proposals will run from 1 March to 31 May 2022, with the grant awardees announced at the end of September 2022 following the evaluation process.
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Call for Papers: "Annual Meeting of the Mongolia Society 2022"
The 2022 Annual Meeting and Panels of The Mongolia Society will be held on Saturday, October 22, 2022 at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. The Society is meeting in conjunction with CESS (Central Eurasian Studies Society), which meets October 20-23, 2022. Further information on the Society’s Annual Meeting and Panels will be available at a later date.
The Mongolia Society is placing a CALL FOR PAPERS for the 2022 Annual Meeting and Panels. We invite papers on Mongolian history, language and culture. Abstracts should be submitted to The Mongolia Society office, no later than September 1, 2022. The abstract must contain the paper title, be no more than 300 words, and include your contact information (email address and telephone number). If your abstract is accepted, you will have 20 minutes to present your paper. Zoom presenters are welcome.
Please note that you must be a member of The Mongolia Society in order to present a paper. To Join the Society, you may pay online (via Paypal and Stripe) at https://www.mongoliasociety.org/membership-types or contact Susie Drost at the address and telephone number provided above.
ATTENDANCE DONATION for the 2022 Mongolia Society Annual Meeting and Panels will be $15 for Mongolia Society Members, $25 for Non-Members and $10 for students with ID. You may pay your donation (via Paypal or Stripe) by going to our website’s home page (www.mongoliasociety.org) and clicking the‘Donation’ button the right hand side, at the top of the page. When prompted to ‘add additional information,’ please add ‘Annual Meeting.’ Or, you may contact Susie Drost. The Attendance Donation fee must be paid by October 20, 2022. You will be sent a receipt for your donation that you can use as your entry pass to these events.
*The Society is offering a special discounted membership rate when new members join and pay the Annual Meeting Attendance Donation at the same time. It will cost only $40 for new U.S. members, $50 for Foreign members, to both join the Society and attend the Annual Meeting and Panels.
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Call for Submissions: "E. Gene Smith Inner Asia Book Prize" by AAS
Named to honor the distinguished scholar of Tibet, Mongolia, and other areas of Inner Asia, the E. Gene Smith Book Prize, offered biennially, honors outstanding and innovative scholarship across discipline and country of specialization for a book on Inner Asia.
Books nominated may address either contemporary or historical topics in any field of the humanities or the social sciences related to any of the countries and regions in the wide swath of Asia stretching from the eastern border of Afghanistan to Mongolia, i.e., Tibet, Xinjiang or Mongolia, including peoples coming recently from those areas.
Prize
$1,000 award for the author.
Guidelines for Submission
Only books bearing a copyright date of 2019 or 2020 will be eligible for the 2022 awards.
Publishers must complete the book nomination form.
Each press may nominate a maximum of six books for the Smith Prize.
Only publishers may nominate books.
Upon receipt of a completed nomination form, publishers will be provided with addresses for prize committee members. A copy of each entry, clearly labeled “E. Gene Smith Inner Asia Book Prize,” must be sent to each member of the appropriate committee.
Deadline
Nominations must be received by July 15, 2021 to be eligible for the 2022 awards.
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Interesting digital resource we discovered in March, 2022:- "Mongolia Collections at the Harvard-Peabody Museum": The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has long had Mongolia collections in its repository. However, renovations are underway to improve accessibility and curate the collections, especially the ones brought in by the famed Mongolist Owen Lattimore. The link above takes you to almost 200 digitized items of archeological and ethnographic significance -- and it's open to public!
Member contribution publications:(We received the following announcement of publication from our members. If you would like to announce your publication, please reach out to us at info@mongoliacenter.org) Selected scholarly articles published in March, 2022:
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| | FEATURE ARTICLES AND EVENTS ON MONGOLIAN STUDIES |
| "Central Eurasian Book Club: Young Mongols" | Zoom (April 14)
The book club will discuss Young Mongols: Forging Democracy in the Wild Wild East by Aubrey Menard on April 14 at 5pm on zoom for a Q & A session with author.
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"The Mongol World" By Timothy May, Michael Hope
Price: 42.36 USD (ebook) 1100 pages. Routledge
Drawing upon research carried out in several different languages and across a variety of disciplines, The Mongol World documents how Mongol rule shaped the trajectory of Eurasian history from Central Europe to the Korean Peninsula, from the thirteenth century to the fifteenth century.
Contributing authors consider how intercontinental environmental, economic, and intellectual trends affected the Empire as a whole and, where appropriate, situate regional political, social, and religious shifts within the context of the broader Mongol Empire. Issues pertaining to the Mongols and their role within the societies that they conquered therefore take precedence over the historical narrative of the societies that they conquered. Alongside the formation, conquests, administration, and political structure of the Mongol Empire, the second section examines archaeology and art history, family and royal households, science and exploration, and religion, which provides greater insight into the social history of the Empire -- an aspect often neglected by traditional dynastic and political histories.
With 58 chapters written by both senior and early-career scholars, the volume is an essential resource for all students and scholars who study the Mongol Empire from its origins to its disintegration and legacy.
Timothy May (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) is Professor of Central Eurasian History at the University of North Georgia and serves as Associate Dean of Arts & Letters. A scholar of the Mongol Empire, he focuses on Mongol military history and strategy. He is the author of The Mongol Art of War (2007), The Mongol Conquests in World History (2012), The Mongol Empire (2018), The Mongols (2019), and Simply Chinggis (2021). In 2014, he was named the University of North Georgia Alumni Distinguished Professor, and he earned the UNG Distinguished Teaching Award in 2021.
Michael Hope (Ph.D., Australian National University) is Associate Professor of History at Yonsei University, Korea. He specializes in the political and cultural history of the Mongol Empire with a particular focus on the Ilkhanate. He is the author of Power, Politics, and Tradition in the Mongol Empire and the Ilkhanate of Iran (2016).
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| "A History of Mongolian Shamanism" By Dalai Chuluunii and Erdene-Otgon Dalai
Price: 89.00 USD (paper) 62 pages. Springer, Singapore
This book discusses the evolution of Mongolian shamanism from the distant past to the collapse of great empires such as the Yuan Dynasty in the fourteenth century, drawing on archeological findings and historical resources like the Mongolian Secret History. Further, it introduces readers to the cultural and ideological differences between Mongolian shamanists, who believe in the Eternal Blue Sky, and modern Mongols, who follow Buddhist teachings. In closing, the authors put forward the idea that Mongolian shamanism could have helped build great empires, emphasizing, e.g., shamanism’s influence on Mongolian culture and literature in the Middle Ages.
Academician Dalai Chuluunii (1930-2009) was Director and Academic Secretariat at the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Institute of International Studies and the Institute of History, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolia. He also served at the Diplomatic Service of Mongolia in Peking, China. He graduated from Peking University, People’s Republic of China (1958), and received his Ph.D. in History (1970) and Sc.D. in Mongolian History from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolia (1986). His main research works focused on Mongolian History, Sinology, Oriental Studies, and the History of International Relations. He was the author of 20 monographs and co-author of 13 books, as well as 100 articles in Mongolian and foreign languages such as Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Czech, etc. He was awarded the Honorary Scientist of Mongolia (1996) and other major prizes from academic organizations in, e.g., Russia, China and Japan. |
| | "When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East" By Amy Quan Barry
Price: 27.00 USD (paper) 62 pages. Springer, Singapore
Tasked with finding the reincarnation of a great lama—a spiritual teacher who may have been born anywhere in the vast Mongolian landscape—the young monk Chuluun sets out with his identical twin, Mun, who has rejected the monastic life they once shared. Their relationship will be tested on this journey through their homeland as each possesses the ability to hear the other’s thoughts.
Proving once again that she is a writer of immense range and imagination, Quan Barry carries us across a terrain as unforgiving as it is beautiful and culturally varied, from the western Altai mountains to the eerie starkness of the Gobi Desert to the ancient capital of Chinggis Khaan. As their country stretches before them, questions of faith—along with more earthly matters of love and brotherhood—haunt the twins.
Are our lives our own, or do we belong to something larger? When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East is a stunningly far-flung examination of our individual struggle to retain our convictions and discover meaning in a fast-changing world, as well as a meditation on accepting what simply is.
Born in Saigon and raised in Massachusetts, QUAN BARRY is the author of the novels She Weeps Each Time You’re Born and We Ride Upon Sticks (winner of the 2020 ALA Alex Award), and four books of poetry, including Water Puppets (winner of the AWP Donald Hall Prize for Poetry and a PEN Open Book finalist). Barry’s first play, The Mytilenean Debate, premiers in the spring of 2022. She is the Lorraine Hansberry Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. |
| | A Thousand Steps to Parliament" By Manduhai Buyandelger
Price: 32.50 USD (paper) 288 pages. UChicago Press
A Thousand Steps to Parliament traces how the complicated, contradictory paths to political representation that women in Mongolia must walk mirror those the world over.
Mongolia has often been deemed an “island of democracy,” commended for its rapid adoption of free democratic elections in the wake of totalitarian socialism. The democratizing era, however, brought alongside it a phenomenon that Manduhai Buyandelger terms “electionization”—a restructuring of elections from time-grounded events into a continuous, neoliberal force that governs everyday life beyond the electoral period. In A Thousand Steps to Parliament, she shows how campaigns in Mongolia have come to substitute for the functions of governing, from social welfare to the private sector. Such long-term, high-investment campaigns depend on an accumulation of wealth and power beyond the reach of most women candidates. Given their limited financial means and outsider status, successful women candidates instead use strategies of self-polishing to cultivate charisma and a reputation for being oyunlag, or intellectful. This carefully and intentionally crafted identity can be called the “electable self”: treating their bodies and minds as pliable and renewable, women candidates draw from the same practices of neoliberalism that have unsustainably commercialized elections. A Thousand Steps to Parliament traces how the complicated, contradictory paths to representation that women in Mongolia must walk mirror those the world over, revealing an urgent need to grapple with the encroaching effects of neoliberalism in democracies globally.
Manduhai Buyandelger is professor of anthropology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the author of Tragic Spirits: Shamanism, Gender, and Memory in Contemporary Mongolia, also published by the University of Chicago Press. . |
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